“A major mishap was averted at Hauz Khas metro station on 15th May when more than 15 passengers tumbled down a packed escalator after one of them lost his balance and fell. Some commuters who pressed the escalator’s emergency stop button that prevented the tragedy.”

Seeing an overcrowded escalator at a metro station is such a common sight which can be a cause of many unfortunate mishaps.

As a college student, I have been using blue and yellow line for five years now. I’d often see commuters in a rush zig-zagging their way through on the escalators, causing inconvenience to people standing on either side of it. To be honest, I too have been one such commuter myself.

As one of the most widely used public transport systems in Delhi, the Delhi Metro has made commuting much simpler for all of us. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is making constant efforts towards making facilities commuter-friendly and continuously educating us to use these effectively through their announcement system and signages.

However, DMRC further needs to introduce signages on escalator etiquette, to avoid any further accidents at any metro station. This is why, I am asking DMRC to paste stickers at the base of every escalator, informing commuters to “Stand Left & Walk Right”. 

Introducing this convention, which is practiced in many other countries around the world, allows for commuters to stand on one particular side of an escalator and allows other people to walk on the opposite side.

Every time I see a packed escalator at any metro station, I just hope that nothing goes wrong, and I make it to the top, safely. Introducing stickers like these will surely ease the risk of accidents on escalators, especially during peak hours.  

Sign my petition, asking DMRC to paste stickers at the base of every escalator, informing commuters to “Stand Left & Walk Right”. DMRC has 250 stations across 8 different lines in the city, and this number is only going to grow.

Let’s together ensure that we can make escalators safe for all metro commuters.